Surabhi Dangi-Garimella, PhD

Accountable care organizations (ACOs) often care for patients with complex, chronic conditions that can lead to high expenditures and utilization of care. During a session at the National Association of ACOs Fall 2018 conference, being held October 3-5 in Washington, DC, panelists discussed how ACOs can design and implement strategies that deliver high-quality, low-cost care for these patients.

At the National Association of ACOs Fall 2018 conference, being held October 3-5 in Washington, DC, panelists shared successful innovative initiatives that have been developed by their accountable care organizations (ACOs). What worked and what did not was the focus of the conversation led by Debbie Welle-Powell, chief population health officer, Essentia Health.

New research findings and critical evaluation of existing data can lead to changes in screening and treatment of certain cancers. Here are some updates to the diagnosis and treatment of breast, uterine, and cervical cancers.

At a full-day event in Newark, New Jersey, drug enforcement officials came together with community leaders to brainstorm diverse approaches to the opioid crisis that are focused on preventive interventions at home, in the community, in schools, and at workplaces, as well as to learn from best practices that have been implemented in other states.

A new index released by Oxfam has ranked Washington, DC, along with the 50 US states based on their policies around minimum wages, health and safety, leave, etc—which could be used as a surrogate for the well-being of the labor force. Virginia ranked last and Washington, DC, led the list.

Serious vascular events in patients with diabetes can be prevented with aspirin use, according to results of the ASCEND (A Study of Cardiovascular Events iN Diabetes) trial, which were presented at the ongoing ESC Congress in Munich, Germany.

A special task force established by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) has developed 4 overall principles and 10 specific recommendations to ensure that physical activity is a part of the standard of care among patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), spondyloarthritis, and osteoarthritis in Europe.

Care strategies updates from the American Society of Clinical Oncology's Annual Meeting, held June 2018.

Rebekah Gee, MD, Louisiana’s secretary of the Department of Health, is working on innovative solutions to ensure patient access to costly drugs within existing financial resources.

A new study published in JAMA reviewed the premarket development and review times of drugs approved between 2012 and 2017 that were granted Breakthrough Therapy designation and found that the crucial studies that supported these approvals lacked key features, including randomization, double-blinding, and control groups.

Results presented at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology's Annual Meeting found that transoral robotic-assisted surgery (TORS), following chemotherapy and neck resections, is an effective model for the definitive treatment for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) while avoiding the adverse effects of radiation.

Current standard of care treatment for rectal cancer, which recommends combining surgery with chemotherapy and radiation, fails to prolong survival in patients younger than 50 years of age, according to findings published early online in the journal Cancer.

Blaming a recent decision by the US District Court for the District of New Mexico, CMS has announced that it has halted collections or payments under the risk adjustment program, including amounts for the 2017 benefit year, established by the Affordable Care Act for the 2014-2018 benefit period.

The trial is designed to test chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in children and young adults with relapsed/refractory brain and central nervous system (CNS) tumors, wherein the modified CAR T cells will be directly injected at the site of tumor resection or into the ventricular system of the CNS.

While measures implemented by CMS in 2017 stabilized the individual marketplace and improved performance of health insurance exchanges, those without federal subsidies have limited coverage options, according to the reports.

A new study conducted at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has discovered an epigenetic regulatory mechanism of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region of the DNA, which can lead to an increased risk of multiple sclerosis.

A new research study from the Baylor College of Medicine finds that vaccine nonmedical exemption rates are inversely associated with vaccine coverage—especially for measles, mumps, and rubella—in certain geographic locations, which can increase the likelihood of preventable outbreaks in those regions.

While global maternal mortality rates (MMR), particularly in the developed nations, have been dropping, US MMR has seen a steady rise. Protecting the well-being of women, both during and after pregnancy, is vital. Here are some updates on the status of maternal care in the United States.

At the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, a study conducted in France revealed the impact of electronic patient-reported outcomes (PROs) on survival among patients being treated for lung cancer. The study was presented by Fabrice Denis, MD, PhD, radiation oncologist at Institut Inter-regional de Cancérologie Jean Bernard, Le Mans, France.

A late-breaking abstract presented on Sunday at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting confirmed that pembrolizumab significantly improved the primary endpoint of overall survival over platinum-based chemotherapy in treatment-naïve advanced/metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The effect, the authors found, was agnostic of PD-L1 expression, meaning the monoclonal antibody was effective for tumors expressing PD-L1 at ≥50%, ≥20%, and ≥1%.

Trial Assigning IndividuaLized Options for Treatment (Rx), or TAILORx, successfully confirmed the benefit of endocrine therapy alone in patients with early-stage breast cancer who have an Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score of 11 to 25.

Treatment with cetuximab, concurrent with chemoradiation (CRT), in older patients diagnosed with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has similar toxicity as CRT treatment, but overall survival is inferior. These are the results of a retrospective analysis that were presented by Dan Paul Zandberg, MD, University of Maryland, Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center, at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.

A long-term follow-up of the chimeric antigen receptor T-cell treatment, axicabtagene ciloleucel (Axi-cel) in patients with B-cell lymphoma, presented at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, found that a response at 3 months may be prognostic for long-term remission in those patients.

Treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC)—the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States—remains challenging even today. But according to leading oncologists in the field, who were speaking at a session at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, screening patients diagnosed with CRC for deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) could help create a roadmap for precision treatment.

Leading global experts believe that for immunotherapy to work in glioblastoma—which has an estimated 5-year survival rate of 33% in the United States—combination treatments are the way forward.

At the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, June 1-5, Chicago, Illinois, Noopur S. Raje, MD, director, Center for Multiple Myeloma, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, presented results from the phase 1 multicenter study with a second-generation chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy called bb2121.

A phase 3 study, conducted by the Children’s Oncology Group among children and young adults between ages 1 and 30 diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia or T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia, has found a 90% survival rate at 4 years posttreatment initiation—84% of these patients were declared cancer free at that point in their treatment trajectory. Results from this study will be presented at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, June 1-5, in Chicago, Illinois.

A retrospective analysis conducted by researchers at the University of Louisville has found that less than 2% of the more than 7.5 million eligible smokers were screened for lung cancer in 2016 despite recommendations by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). These results will be presented at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, June 1-5, Chicago, Illinois.

Use of the mobile and sensor technology, CYCORE—CYberinfrastructure for COmparative Effectiveness Research—to remotely monitor symptoms in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) undergoing radiation therapy found CYCORE patients had lower symptoms overall and specific to HNC. These results are a part of the research to be presented at the upcoming 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, June 1-5, Chicago, Illinois.